Help Needed Here!!!

[marine_pheonix]

HI!!!

I've posted a few threads on me upgrading my tank and now my new 60gal tank is ready for livestocks. However, i still have a few more questions that i hope u experienced hobbiyist out there could help me on. ( I know i should post this thread at the Lighting catergory but i feel more comfortable here... So hope u all don't mind... )

1) I just bought my lighting unit yesterday. There are two bulbs in my lamp, one white and one blue. My doubt here is.... the box of the lamp writes 24watts... Therefore i am thinking whether this 24watts means the total watt of the 2 bulbs is 24 OR each bulb is 24watts?

2) One particular paragraph on the box says something about T5... Can someone tell me what does that means because I would like to determine whether my lighting unit is standard flourescent, compact flourescent, High Output (HO) Fluorescent Systems or VHO Fluorescent Lighting Systems.

3) I would like to keep the following in my tank:- mushrooms
- polyps
- some soft corals
- maybe an anemone
Is it possible for my to keep these stuffs with my current lighting?

Thks!

[marine_pheonix]

I just found these 2 readings on the bulbs....

Additional Informations on my Lighting:
Blue Bulb: 21watts.
White Bulb: 21watts, 12000K.

Hope these will help!!!

[marine_pheonix]

Sorry... Another question....

With the above additional information, does that means that the total watts for my lighting unit is 42watts?

[charlie]

It sounds like your have 2 T5 bulbs in your system, both are 21 watts. You don't happen to have a pic do you. It's a little early for me, haven't had enuf coffee yet
How big is your tank?
You should be alright for mushrooms and polyps, but an anenome is gonna require alot more lite.

[Poseidon]

Seems like those are questions you should have asked BEFORE you bought the fixture! T5 is a good lighting choice though, and Charlie is right they are great for polyps and shrooms, but NOT an anemone, or clam, or SPS. Unless you are going to add MORE of the T5's.

[charlie]

Mike is right on here. You are not looking for brightness as much as you are looking for penetration into the tank.

[marine_pheonix]

Thanks for the reply.

If i cannot keep SPS corals, can i keep some LPS corals instead? Are soft corals possible with my current lighting unit?

One doubt on anemones though. I've visited various LFS and the anemones for sale are kept in big basins without any light. The only thing that is provided is strong water current. Therefore i am thinking how come these anemones can survive in this condition when most websites says that anemones requires LOTS of light to live? ( the anemones are always at full-bloom and the tentacles are always fat and round which looks good...)

[Poseidon]

Anemones are kept short term at the LFS, they are in "full bloom" because they are trying to get as much light as they can! It is an OLD TRICK the less light you give the larger the anemones become, and look healthy FOR SHORT PERIODS of time. They will certainly start to bleach out, and soon die, but the LFS is betting they are sold before that happens!

[marine_pheonix]

Okay, now i see the thingy behind this thing...


But can someone answer my question.... and that is can i keep LPS corals and soft corals in my tank with my current lighting unit?

BTW, how strong should my powerhead be if i want sufficient water flow in my 60gal tank? Is 1400L/H enough?

Thks!!!

[Reefland]

I would stick with only hardy soft corals under that limited light. You could try a hardy LPS if you placed it high in the tank to maximize the light available to it but definitely don't get any Fungia sp. or anything similar that prefers the sand bed.

As far as flow, I would go with as much as possible. ;)

[marine_pheonix]

I see.... So can someone give me some example of hardy LPS corals and soft corals?


Thks!!!

[charlie]

As far as soft corals go, you got your mushrooms, zooanthids and green star polyps. Those are all real hardy and tend to grow like weeds. Most of the finger leathers are pretty hardy, I know this because if I can grow 'em, anybody can. My sinularia suffered thru 3 years of a bad hair algae problem and it is now 5 inches in diameter at the base.

[marine_pheonix]

Wow! I see! Looks like i still have a wide variety of corals to choose from!!!

One question about my fishy... I have 2 percula clown and 2 tomato clowns in my tank. The perculas were introduced to the tank 2 days before the tomatos. The thing is that occassionally, the tomatos would swim over to the perculas and "vibrate" its body. The perculas would do the same thing back to them. So are they trying to be friends or are they just fighting?

Hope to get some replies soon!!!

[marine_pheonix]

Hello.... Some help needed here....Please.... Thanks...

[Reefland]

Hi marine_phoenix,

I would venture to guess that the fish are ok and just showing a bit of territorial behavior. Most people don't keep two pairs of clowns that are different species in a tank your size but I think they will be fine.